Monthly Archives: September 2014

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Is it enough to go to the gym or eat “right”? Does diet and exercise produce wellness? If we look at the focus of most of the research that is reported in the media lately, we might come to that conclusion. What if the research is not reporting on the most important factors because those factors are not convenient to measure in the standard research design that is typically used? Would we even know about these factors if it were not for the large crowd of wellness practitioners who know better?read more

The term “wellness and recovery” is being used extensively in the mental health and substance abuse treatment world. Just Google the term and you will find a large volume of links. I want to take a look at the idea and tie it back to the model of holistic wellness that I advocate.

Generally speaking, wellness and recovery models are based on the principles of holism. It is important for anyone who is applying this kind of model as an intervention to promote personal wellness goals to explore the multiple domains of existence. The standard models of mental health treatment that focus mostly on emotional or cognitive processes fall short when it comes to sustainable long term wellness.read more

I decided to share this recipe because I was experimenting and it turned out well enough that I wanted to be able to reproduce the dish in the future. I figure if I like it that much, you all might like it too.

This recipe can be kept gluten-free and vegan. You can substitute ingredients and avoid any foods that you have problems with. Some folks need to avoid tomatoes, and this case, you can probably get away with using a nice vegetable broth.

Most of the ingredients for this dish can be found at a natural foods store. Many grocery stores are keeping an aisle of natural foods where you can find most of these as well. I like to shop where there are bulk bins and I can just buy as much as I need. I found the tapioca starch at a local Asian grocery.read more

This week I would like to share some of my personal experience with managing chronic pain. As a youth, I was informed that I have a condition of the spine called scoliosis. For those who are not familiar, this is not an uncommon condition that is basically some kind of atypical curvature of the spine. Everyone has some curvature of the spine, usually from front to back and not so much from side to side. These curves are necessary for allowing us to bear the weight of our upright posture. If our spines were perfectly straight, it would not be efficient or comfortable. In the case of scoliosis, the curves go from side to side when and where they should not, or they exceed the best range of curvature from front to back.read more

Here we are coming to the end of summer and moving into the fall season. As the weather starts to change, we will enter the cold and flu season. Very soon a barrage of advertising for flu shots, cold and flu remedies, and various alternative medicine products will be flooding the airwaves. Many of these interventions promise that they will protect us from or prevent us from “catching” one of these seasonal ailments. The rest of them promise that they will make us more comfortable if we do get sick, or help us recover more quickly; if only we purchase and use the product that they are recommending (selling).read more